DJ Trava

Archive for the ‘History’ Category

There is nothing plain about the state of Maine. And for that matter there is nothing plain about the residents either. This beautiful New England state shares much in common with its neighbors, such as a passion for the Patriots , and other beautiful geographic elements. But of course each of these states also has its unique environment and cultural aspects that sets it apart from the rest, while also remaining part of the whole. The entire region is comprised of the states Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

One of the interesting aspects of New England is that it happens to be one of the most progressive and liberally minded regions of the country, while it also has some of the strongest historical heritage features. Maine is the northernmost of these states and it cuts into a chunk of Canada. Three of its sides are bordered by Canada and it is also the state that sits the furthest to the east. A couple of the other unique aspects of this state are that it is the only one whose name is only one syllable long and it also borders only one other state, which is New Hampshire. It was one of the slower regions to develop and it finally became the 23rd state with the formation of the Missouri Compromise.

Many of the tourist accommodations in this state are beautiful bed and breakfasts though it is also easy to find some luxury hotels. Maine is an extremely welcoming and friendly state, and tourists are more than encouraged to enjoy the numerous cultural attractions and beautiful geography of the state. Portland is the largest city though Augusta is its capital, coming in at less than half the population of Portland. But the capital city of many states is not its largest city and California and Texas are two other examples of this. As the largest city in Maine, it is also the primary cultural center. With establishments and organizations such as the Maine Historical Society Museum , the Portland Stage Company and the Portland Museum of art attract numerous tourists to the city and keep residents entertained and satisfied.

These are very different times, even in Arizona. In some parts of the country, the Grand Canyon State has a reputation that still lingers on from the old days, where people like Wyatt Earp could come to hide out from the rest of the country, and even get elected to office while running from various charges. The truth is, the Arizona lawyer of today is not the same as the ones who worked on cases involving horse thieves. There may be some remnants of old battles that linger on in the court system, but the majority of the time it’s run according to the same standards as anywhere else.

Sometimes it’s even more so, because a law firm in Arizona, if it’s been around for a few generations, will have lived through some of these more famous outlaw times. The cycles of history might tend to repeat themselves in various variations, but it’s much more difficult today to lead double lives. But the idea still has a certain quiet power, that is as strong as the pull of any myth of the Old West.

People do come to the state with the intentions of making a better life for themselves, and there are often people who come through looking to reinvent who they are. This doesn’t have the same social effects as a feud that erupts in places like the O.K. Corral and tends to play itself out more in the realm of the workplace. There are actors, visual artists, musicians, and even real estate agents who come to town looking for a chance to become the thing they always wanted to be.

It is an attractive place to do it, and there are lots of historic places, like Tombstone , where Wyatt did end up having to meet with lots of lawyers multiple times, but today the outlaw mentality is a show, and the lawyers work to help people get what they deserve.

Black smudges on the roofs of caves suggest hints about the first use of fires by early humans, scattered across Africa and Europe.  As the world progressed, fire obtained through hits of lightning transformed into man-made fires in stone hearths, which eventually led to clay and ceramic ovens.  Over the centuries, as humans developed irrigation techniques for agriculture, they simultaneously developed their control of fire.  What’s the history of fireplaces and stoves?  How far have we come over the centuries?  Here’s a quick look.

The first recorded instance of a stove was in 1490, in Alsace, France.  Everything about it, including the flue, was made of bricks and tiles.  Later, a couple of centuries later, cast iron stoves came into play.  In 1728, a lot of these stoves were made.  The first ones were designed in Germany and known as five-plate stoves or Jamb stoves.  A bit later, Benjamin Franklin created the Franklin stove, an iron furnace stove, marking a huge leap forward in stove technology.  Even later, a man named Frans Wilhelm Lindquist came up with the kerosene stove, which was sootless.  In 1833, one Jordon Mott invented the Base Burner, a stove which contained ventilation in order to let the coal burn better.  It was considered the first practical coal stove.  Only a few years earlier, James Sharp had invented a gas stove, and this particular stove was the first successful one in the marketplace.  In a further move away from fire, a company known as the Carpenter Electric Heating Manufacturing Company is credited as inventing in 1891 the electric stove and then, only five years later, William Hadaway picked up the patent for said stove.  Fourteen years later, in 1910, Hadaway  invented a toaster for Westinghouse, a kind of toaster-cooker, a forerunner, if you will of the modern toaster oven.

In the 20th Century, coal stoves and gas stoves proliferated, with top burners and interior ovens.  In the late 20s and 30s, electric stoves competed with the gas stoves, despite the fact that the electric stoves had been around since the 1890s.  Finally, in 1946, Dr. Percy Spencer created an incredible advancement, the microwave stove.  It would be years before people everywhere had one in their homes.

Finally, today, over the last twenty years or more, the fireplace and home stoves have changed again, with the more efficient gas inserts and wood inserts.  More recently, we’ve seen the evolution of the fire place and stove expand even further, with the ventless gas fireplace.  Over time, we’ve seen fire move out of the cave, harnessed by stone, clay, iron and steel, eventually moving to the point where a fireplace may literally hang on the wall, without the need of a chimney or a flue.  It’ll be fascinating to see where humans will take their use of fire next.